This invention relates to service stations for inkjet printers, and more particularly to a printhead blotter for the service station.
Previous inkjet service stations have typically included wipers and caps to maintain printhead health. These components have been fairly effective in the past at keeping printheads healthy.
A method which has been used to revive failing printheads during development work for printheads is to blot the printhead with a wet fabric sheet. The fabric sheet is wetted with de-ionized water, and then pressed up against the orifice plate. The water in the fabric dissolves any plugs in the orifices, and the capillary draw of the textile sheet flushes ink out of the nozzles, which in effect primes them. A wet textile sheet works fairly well to recover nozzles, and when wiping alone with a service station does not work, the wet wipe sheet is usually employed.
A printhead blotter system is describes that allows the printhead to be blotted by a blotter that is pre-wetted by de-ionized water. The wet wipe blotter system is an additional tool to use in maintaining good nozzle health, which can prolong the life of a printhead and improve print quality consistency throughout the life of a product.
In an exemplary embodiment, a printhead blotter system is described for an inkjet printing system employing an inkjet printhead with an orifice plate or nozzle array for ejecting droplets of ink. The blotter system includes a blotter member, and a backer structure for supporting a portion of the blotter member to be used for a given blotting operation. The blotter portion is passed over the backer structure during the blotting operation. A fluid dispenser dispenses a cleaning fluid onto the blotter portion or the backer member. A mechanism is coupled to the backer structure to move the backer toward the printhead orifice plate to an engagement position, or away from the printhead to a rest position. The mechanism engages or disengages the blotter portion with the printhead orifice plate. The blotter system can include a dispenser system for supporting the blotter relative to the backer structure and moving the blotter to move a used portion of the blotter away from the backer structure and position a fresh blotter portion over the backer structure.